Ask Sernpidal Cry for Help

[Hailee Lightwood]

The further they ran, the the more her state improved. Apparently, she hadn't inhaled enough to be fully knocked out. However, she still hadn't regained controlled over her muscles again. It was only at the police station where she could finally feel her fingertips and the police officers voice finally helped to pull her out of her stasis.

Her heart was pounding in her chest and her vision was still slightly blurry, but she stirred to signal Pêro that she was okay and ready to be set down again. It took quite a few moments until she processed the police Officer's words, especially because they were immensely unsettling and confusing even, but when she did, she stared up at Pêro in horror.

"Another attack?!" she literally couldn't believe it."We...we need to go. Call reinforcements and see whether we can help" she hectically replied, her thoughts still spinning. She knew she needed to focus and so she recalled what Pêro had taught her. Slowly but steadily she called upon the Force not only to cure her exhaustion, but also to guide this gassy poison out of her system. "We can't waste time", but they definitely needed the police to help.


@LouJoVi

 

[Pêro Erval]

Pêro helped Hailee sit in a chair, so she could recover from the effects of the gas. For his relief, it ended up not being toxic and only left his Padawan numb. She only needed some time to recover and soon they would be able to continue with the investigation.

While she recovered, the G’weneen turned to talk with the police officer. “Can you explain what happened during this attack?” he wanted to understand what happened. If something that all the attacks had in common was that they happened in open places. Squares and streets, but never inside a building.

“From what witnesses informed us, they said that a group of cloaked figures used some type of gas to immobilize them and left the building after exploding the glass ceiling. Apparently they stole an artifact from an exposition.” now the Knight was more confused than earlier. First the violent attacks and now a robbery. Nothing made sense.

He nodded at the officer and turned to Hailee. “When you finish recovering, we are going to visit the museum. If we discover what has been stolen, perhaps we can understand what is happening here.” hopefully it would be the case, because he had no other idea of how to solve Sernpidal’s problems.

@LadyRen

 

[Hailee Lightwood]

Hailee was grateful that Pêro carefully placed her in a chair where she slowly started recovering. Her lungs were still burning and her vision blurry, but steadily, she regained controlled over her nerves and senses. She had no idea how long it would take until the toxins would leave her body, but it seemed like she hadn't inhaled enough to be knocked out for a longer period of time.

Just like Pêro had taught her, she tried to concentrate as best as she could, while she slowly used the Force to influence the toxins. Maybe she could speed up the process of their decomposition. While she did that, Hailee listened to the conversation between the officer and Pêro as attentively as possible, but the more details he revealed, the more confused she got. Now a robbery was involved as well?! Was that crime related to the attacks? And had the assailants witnessed that the two Jedi were now at the local police station?

And then it suddenly dawned her. An artifact. Well that surely made sense. She was still coughing while she tried to straighten her back, but she didn't want to leave that uncommented. "If they are...preparing a ritual, we better hurry" she stated, taking another deep breath.

"I'm okay. Or getting better at least. It seems like I can walk again, so maybe we should leave" she then added, slowly pushing herself back to her feet. She staggered visibly, but used the Force to stabilize herself and so she didn't fall backwards again after all.

@LouJoVi

 

[Pêro Erval]

When Hailee mentioned a ritual, Pêro turned to stare in surprise at her. While he had felt their pursuers using the Force, the Knight wondered why his Padawan thought that they wanted to do a ritual. It was a possibility, but he wasn’t sure. He couldn’t affirm it with the few clues that they had about the entire situation.

The officers were also staring at her, but in their case it was confusion. He approached Hailee and placed a hand at her shoulder. “Try to rest some more, Padawan. The gas is still affecting you.” he smiled, thinking how the poor woman was delirious with the effect. It was really a strong substance.

Then, Pêro turned back at the officer. “Do you know what type of artifact they stole? It can help us understand what is happening.” probably the museum had warned the police about what was taken. It could be the information that they needed to understand all that was happening.

“Yes. It was a piece of a ship from a Nihil ship. It was in an exposition about the High Republic.” the officer said, while reading this information from his datapad. He had no idea about what all that could mean or even why someone would steal an old part of a ship. He wondered if the Jedi could understand that.

Unfortunately, Pêro also had no idea about what they wanted with such an item. He was never good with History, so he only barely knew what the Nihil were. “Hailee, we are going to the museum. We will ask for more information about what was stolen and search for clues.”

@LadyRen

 

[Hailee Lightwood]

Pêro seemed rather confused about her idea and so she studied him critically for a moment. Did he not want to admit that in front of the officer? Or was he assuming this wasn't even possible? For her it seemed logical...but she could still talk to him in private later on.

With the Force flowing right though her, it seemed to be getting better and better with every moment, but she was also overplaying a huge part of it. As Pêro walked over to her, the starled gazes of the officers seemed to burn on her skin, but she tried to ignore them as best as she could, however as he placed a hand on your shoulder and talked to her like a senile elderly person, she glared at her master rather furiously.

She frowned a bit, completely holding back because she knew it would backfire if she would make a scene now. She assumed he did not want to worry the officers and that's why he acted that way, but she still crossed her arms in front of her chest while she leaned back and relaxed some more, following Pêro's advice because she knew she needed her full strength.

Hailee listened attentively, but she had never heard of the Nihil before. It was a good thing they could do some research while on their way, but this all sounded super shady. "Yes...let's go. We can surely find more clues and traces" she replied to him with new found optimism, however she turned back to the officers with brows furrowed in worry. "You better stay alerted. It seems like the situation is escalating as the incidents and attends occur more regularly even. The citizen must be kept save at all cost and we'll try our everything to contain the threat". She glanced back to her master, nodding towards the exit before she got back to her still slightly unsteady feet. She was staggering, but it was alright and so she really wanted to leave right away.

@LouJoVi

 

[Pêro Erval]

Pêro helped Hailee get up from her seat. He didn’t like how his Padawan’s legs were still shaking. If he could, the G’weneen would have ordered her to stay here. However, after everything that happened so far he was sure that he wasn’t going to be able to solve this mystery alone.

“Be careful, you are still recovering.” the Knight said, while the two walked out of the police station. He had asked the officers to give them a ride to the museum, since some of them were still going to the scene of the latest incident. This way they would reach the place faster than if they went by foot.

When they arrived at the museum, the two Jedi were able to see the chaotic state of the building. There was smoke coming out of the hole that the explosion left in the ceiling, while the police and firefighters were around the entrance.

“We are coming inside. I want to see if they left something inside and talk with the museum staff. Perhaps they will have an idea about why these people wanted that artifact.” Pêro said, while leaving the speeder. If Hailee was still feeling weak, he would help her leave it. Now they would have much work to do.

@LadyRen

 

[Hailee Lightwood]

Hailee saw that Pêro was still looking worried, but both of them knew they had to start leaving now, for the trail was still fresh and they had to start investigating before anyone could destroy or even hide any hints and traces, and so the blonde woman left the police station with the help of her master.

Together, they made their way towards the museum, where the scene was unmistakably obvious: The smoke clouds revealed that the assailants couldn't have even come fast and her first impulse would have been to start looking for them, but she knew this wasn't the smartest choice.

If they wanted to uncover that weird case and the mysterious circumstances behind all that, they had to investigate on the inside. She was still a bit worried that their presence would be noted by someone and so after Pêro had helped her out, she was on her guard again.

With still slightly weak knees, she followed him inside, her right hand not leaving her lightsaber's hilt. "Agreed. Let's see what's inside first. Even if the police is informed, we need to figure out more about the stolen exhibit". While she felt dizzy, she could at least walk and it wasn't even hard to tell where the the smoke came from.

The security officers allowed them to enter and the room where all the commotion came from was already the third exhibition room. "Oh..." she almost gasped as her gaze fell upon the crime scene. The attackers had definitely been rather violent in their pursuit and while they had blown up the whole wall, it looked like they had also been in a huge rush.

She was attentively scanning the room with her gaze before she walked up to the inscription on the board in front of the missing artifact, but funnily enough, the attackers seemed to be prepared. "They made the inscriptions illegible..." she stated with a sigh, not touching the melted metal plate that looked like it was coated with some sort of acid. She shook her head. "I can't believe alp that mess is happening...we should ask the staff for details". She was dearly hoping they knew more details about the missing piece, because the plate wasn't telling them anything anymore.

@LouJoVi

 

[Pêro Erval]

When Hailee left the speeder, Pêro helped her walk. The Knight was surprised with how the gas was still affecting his Padawan, even after she had used the Force to minimize the intoxication. Whatever it was made of, this thing was really powerful against Force users.

The attack at the museum left a localized, but great damage. The exposition about the High Republic had been totally destroyed, while the rest was still intact. This showed that these people were selective with their plans and they didn’t cause senseless destruction. The G’weneen wondered if their attacks around the city were also calculated.

“Yes. We’ll need to talk with the curator of the collection to learn more details about what was being exhibited here.” Pêro said, after Hailee pointed to the damaged inscriptions. While they knew that it was part of a Nihil ship, they had no idea where it came from. And even less why these people wanted it.

With that in mind, Pêro asked one of the police officers to show them the curator. They presented to the two Jedi a male Sernpidalian, who was wearing a pair of glasses. Even if he wasn’t Force sensitive, the Knight would have noticed how nervous the man was. “Master Jedi! It’s so good to have your help! We thought that they were going to kill us!”

@LadyRen

 

[Hailee Lightwood]

Hailee was trying hard not to lose hope, but the effects of the gas were still rather frightening and she kept wondering what would have happened if she had inhaled an even bigger amount. She dreaded the answer and so she tried hard not to dwell on that question, but it still came back up every now and then.

The acid splashed inscription proved that those attackers knew exactly what they were doing, how and when, and having to deal with an organized group was bad...The more details they discovered, the worse this all got and she was dearly hoping they would find a way to figure out that mess somehow.

She followed Pêro on shaking knees, hoping that the curator still had the information they needed. She only nodded in reply, not wanting to waste more energy as she would probably need much more later on. She forced herself to a warm, polite smile as they started speaking to the man, trying to project a calmer aura onto him, just like Pêro had once taught her. "It's all right. They won't hurt you" she calmly told him before she shifted weight from one foot onto the other.

"While we were investigating, we realized that the prescription of the exhibit's sign was destroyed and we were wondering whether you have a copy or some sort of record" she explained and the nervous man immediately nodded. He pulled out a data pad, searched through it for a couple of minutes before he transmitted the details to them. He started explaining a couple of things, but in the end he mentioned that they had apparently stolen some sort of a power core. She raised an eyebrow and looked back up to Pêro, wondering whether he had any idea what to make out of that.

@LouJoVi

 

[Pêro Erval]

Pêro smiled discreetly when he felt Hailee using the Force to calm down the curator. Even if this mission ended up being more complex than he had hoped, with several chaotic moments appearing, the Padawan was capable of learning something. For the Knight it was a small, but good, victory.

Hailee’s efforts were successful and the curator became visibly calmer. “To be honest, what they stole wasn’t anything useful. It was the piece of a ship used by a group of marauders that used to plague the Outer Rim centuries ago.” he explained, before picking his datapad. “It was part of the navigation system and of its power core.”

The curator gave the datapad for the two Jedi, allowing them to see the images of the item that was stolen. Since Pêro wasn’t a specialist in machines and ships, he had no idea of what he was seeing. The best that he could do was to nod in agreement to what the man was saying. After all he was the specialist.

“Maybe they plan to rebuild it.” he said, while looking at Hailee. However, he doubted that it would be the case. Such a piece was so ancient that the G’wneen doubted that it could even work. “We need to investigate the crime scene, perhaps there is anything left here that can guide us to where the criminals fled.”

@LadyRen

 

[Hailee Lightwood]

Hailee intently listened to thr curator and raised a brow when he explained the function and kind of the part that was stolen. She wondered whether they simply wanted it because if its symbolic purpose, or whether they were wanting to use it...but was this thing even functional?

Pêro's conclusion definitely made sense and so she hesitantly nodded. "Yes...that's possible. I don't know much about ships but I'm definitely wondering why they need this exact ship" she remarked, contemplatively tilting her head to the side. Was it somehow special? Or was this truly about its symbolism?

When he suggested to investigate the crime scene she nodded and immediately started walking back into the direction, however she briefly stopped to thank the curator for the provided information. Back at the crime scene, she suddenly recalled what had happened back on Yavin when she touched Dave's lost shoe and so she turned back to her master. "Do you think my...psychometry thing will work again?" Wasn't that how they had called it back then? Maybe, if she would focus and touch the molten display, she'd gain some information.

@LouJoVi

 

[Pêro Erval]

Like Hailee, Pêro also had no idea why these criminals wanted to rebuild such a ship. From what he remembers, the Nihil had very peculiar types of vehicles. However, they were so ancient by modern standards. The place where such things should stay was a museum.

After finishing talking with the two Jedi, the curator excused himself and walked away. Alone with his Padawan, Pêro contemplated what they should do next. While he wanted to search for any trail that the criminals could have left behind, the Knight saw that Hailee was still shaken by the gas.

He was in front of a dilemma. If he waited for Hailee to recover totally from it, they risked losing any clue that could have been left. However, his Padawan wasn’t prepared to face them again. In the last time they could barely escape.

“Hailee, our paths are going to split now. You’ll immediately return to Temple, while I’ll continue searching. The effect of the gas is still over you, needing more time for you to recover.” he said, before placing a hand on her shoulder. “I’ll give one last look after them and I’ll contact you if I find something.”

@LadyRen

 

[Hailee Lightwood]

The situation didn't look too well right now, but they wouldn't give up. Sooner or later, they would make progress and manage to let some light shine on this weird, convoluted and complicated case. Sernpidal's safety was threatened and so they obviously couldn't stop.

Hailee raised an eyebrow, curiosly waiting for Pêro's reply, but he suddenly seemed...worried. What he said next confused her and she had no idea why he suddenly wanted to send her home, so she lightly shook her head. "I'm fine, I promise. We need to move on and find a trace" she replied calmly, hoping to soothe him.

She couldn't let him do this alone. They needed one another and the gas would soon stop to affect her. "I can't let you do this". She was not going to disobey his orders, but she couldn't just leave now either. It seemed like he was hiding something and while she didn't want to argue for long, she needed an answer. Was he afraid to get her into danger?

@LouJoVi

 

[Pêro Erval]

Of course Hailee started to argue with him. After this time having the girl as a Padawan, Pêro already knew that she was stubborn. He was naïve in thinking that she would accept his instructions without saying anything. The G’weneen sighed, the time that he was going to lose trying to convince her could help the criminals escape.

“I’ll be fine, Hailee. It’ll not be the first time that I went on a mission alone.” however, it would be the first time that he went against such enemies. While he was a Jedi Knight, Pêro never faced other Force users. But he wasn’t going to have this fact stopping him from helping the people of Sernpidal. Whatever these criminals were doing on the planet, the G’weneen had the feeling that there was something more behind it.

“You are still suffering from the effects of the gas, I can let you go there. You’ll be in danger and I can't allow it to happen. I care about you.” he explained, before smiling at her. “I’ll maintain contact and as soon as I discover what is happening, I’ll return to the Temple.” if she continued to argue, Pêro would insist for her to return to the ship. Her safety and the chance to catch these criminals were too important to continue this conversation.

 

[Hailee Lightwood]

She glared at him, shaking her head. She really couldn't understand his point. She was feeling fine, why did he insist on leaving her behind? Was that only to protect her?! They'd be stronger together, he knew this as well, yet it seemed like there was no way he'd let her come.

It frustrated her that she had breathed the gas in, yet she slowly began to realize that he wouldn't argue and further. Yes, he was a knight and she knew what he was capable of, yet she was worried about him. "I...I'll send help. I'll contact you from the ship and send out a signal" she, too, cared about him, deeply even after all the time they've spent together and she was really afraid he was going after an enemy that was way too powerful on his own. It was his decision, but she didn't share his opinion.

She closed the distance between them, hugging him tightly, her head pressed against his chest for a moment before she let go again. She had learnt that a bond between her master and her, the padawan, had grown strong, thus letting him wasn't easy, but she was convinced she'd be at the ship fast enough to send for help. "Yes...please stay in contact" she sighed, still unsure, but she wouldn't disrespect him by arguing further. They couldn't loose more time. Little did she know that once they've parted, they wouldn't see each other for years...

@LouJoVi